What is Human Physiology?
What on earth does that mean?
"Physiology' is the study of the 'functions' of the human body. For easier comprehension, the body is usually categorized using the 'systems' approach again (as in article 1):
You have an overview of what and where these systems are in article 1, now you will need to know the functions (why, when and how) of each of these systems.
This will be quite useful in understanding the breadth and depth of medicine. For something, which is as complicated as the human body, it is easier to divide the body (figuratively) into various parts or systems in order to understand it better.
That's like having a big cake and cutting it into pieces before we can eat it. For example an automobile has a suspension system, engine system, air-conditioning system, car-stereo system, cooling system etc.
Similarly with the human body, we have various systems each with their own functions and inter-connectivity as well. It's actually quite interesting to discover the functions of each system and how they work.
Why is it important?
Imagine someone is unwell. Before the doctor diagnoses the patient's ailment, he needs to know how the body functions normally before he can gauge what is abnormal. You need to understand the physiology of the cardiovascular system, to understand how high blood pressure affects the various parts of the body. You need to know what a normal blood pressure is before one can say whether a blood pressure is high or low. Stress? Don’t worry. No exam. Just take your own sweet time to surf on the recommended link that we have recommended below. In no time, you will speak like a healthcare professional.
Physiology is also an important basic subject for pharmacology (coming soon). An in-depth understanding of how the body functions is necessary to develop a drug that will act at the particular organ and subsequently will influence the function of the human body.
A medical practitioner needs to know the functions of the various systems and the possible problems if a particular system breaks down. This will help the doctor to narrow down to a particular system and then further narrow down to a specific part of the system (therefore, the importance of knowing anatomy).
Vice versa, a doctor has to know what problems relate to what system. Say a patient comes with a problem, a doctor will have to know which system to focus on.
Recommended link for you to navigate:
(Basic to mid-level: suitable for public and medical students)
Click on to this link (also designed for medical student) and zoom right into the autonomic nervous system. Find out how drugs can influence this system and the consequences:
http://physioweb.med.uvm.edu/301/
Also:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_physiology
"Physiology' is the study of the 'functions' of the human body. For easier comprehension, the body is usually categorized using the 'systems' approach again (as in article 1):
- cardiovascular system
- gastrointestinal system
- nervous system
- respiratory system
- endocrine system
- urino-genital system
- musculo-skeletal system
- hematological system
You have an overview of what and where these systems are in article 1, now you will need to know the functions (why, when and how) of each of these systems.
This will be quite useful in understanding the breadth and depth of medicine. For something, which is as complicated as the human body, it is easier to divide the body (figuratively) into various parts or systems in order to understand it better.
That's like having a big cake and cutting it into pieces before we can eat it. For example an automobile has a suspension system, engine system, air-conditioning system, car-stereo system, cooling system etc.
Similarly with the human body, we have various systems each with their own functions and inter-connectivity as well. It's actually quite interesting to discover the functions of each system and how they work.
Why is it important?
Imagine someone is unwell. Before the doctor diagnoses the patient's ailment, he needs to know how the body functions normally before he can gauge what is abnormal. You need to understand the physiology of the cardiovascular system, to understand how high blood pressure affects the various parts of the body. You need to know what a normal blood pressure is before one can say whether a blood pressure is high or low. Stress? Don’t worry. No exam. Just take your own sweet time to surf on the recommended link that we have recommended below. In no time, you will speak like a healthcare professional.
Physiology is also an important basic subject for pharmacology (coming soon). An in-depth understanding of how the body functions is necessary to develop a drug that will act at the particular organ and subsequently will influence the function of the human body.
A medical practitioner needs to know the functions of the various systems and the possible problems if a particular system breaks down. This will help the doctor to narrow down to a particular system and then further narrow down to a specific part of the system (therefore, the importance of knowing anatomy).
Vice versa, a doctor has to know what problems relate to what system. Say a patient comes with a problem, a doctor will have to know which system to focus on.
Recommended link for you to navigate:
(Basic to mid-level: suitable for public and medical students)
Click on to this link (also designed for medical student) and zoom right into the autonomic nervous system. Find out how drugs can influence this system and the consequences:
http://physioweb.med.uvm.edu/301/
Also:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_physiology
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